Title Affiliations Abstract "The spectacle of socialism. A transnational and interdisciplinary research on the social and architectural history of WorkersU+2019 Assembly Buildings in European cities (1890-1914)." "Department of Architecture and urban planning, Department of Art, music and theatre sciences" "This PhD aims to investigate the interactions and entanglements between architecture and the political culture of labour movements in prewar Europe by focusing on the architectural phenomenon of the often spectacular social democratic Maisons du Peuple or U+2018PeopleU+2019s HousesU+2019 that were built around the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth century in a wide range of European cities. The objective is a clear-cut transnational and interdisciplinary study which tries to unravel the ways architects dealt with the complex interdependence between ideology, self-affirmation, aesthetics and technology." "FWO research project: Large dwellings in Flanders. Development of architectural and users strategies in view of demographic trends and ecological constraints." "Koenraad VAN CLEEMPOEL" "ArcK, Directorate Rector''s Office, Niet onderzoeksgroep gebonden projecten" "From an ecological perspective the available housing in Flanders is far from satisfactory, because of the abundance of large, underused dwellings. These large homes, which are often situated in low density neighbourhoods, are at odds with a policy of sustainability, since the latter implies the need to minimize energy consumption and green gases while large homes in sprawled neighbourhoods generate high direct (heating) and indirect (transport) energy consumption. To simply demolish this housing stock however doesnt seem a realist option given the emotional ties of inhabitants to their dwellings. This proposal aims at a significant and fundamental contribution to the understanding of this complex situation, which is a prerequisite for future solutions. The proposal consists of three sections. A first, geographical section will generate a more precise and complex mapping of the phenomenon: which houses exactly are large and underused? Where are they located? Who are the inhabitants? What is the real estate value and what are the prospects in this respect? A second section comprises qualitative research regarding inhabitation experiences and expectations, relying upon a fieldwork methodology with home visits and in-depth interviews, resulting in an architectural analysis of the plans and an ethnographic analysis of the discourses of the inhabitants. A third section investigates through typological and design research possible strategies to adapt these dwellings to future conditions." "Lost in Representation: Investigating the Material Agency of Media in the Architectural Design Process." "Lara Schrijver" "Henry van de Velde" "The research project departs from the observation that the invention of new types of media for architectural representation in history coincides with developments in architectural paradigms and styles at the time. The project proposes to examine this apparent relationship by (1) developing an original contribution to architectural history through the analysis of six case studies and (2) by building a conceptual framework within which to understand the active role these media have in the formation of ideas, designs, and knowledge, focused on the material qualities of these media. The research will study (1) the transformation of military cartography into architectural drawings in 17th century France, in relation with the advent of geometrical landscape design; (2) the commercialisation of tracing paper in 18th century Central-Europe, in relation with the rise of eclecticism in architecture, (3) the adoption of casts and moulds as a means of studying architecture in 19th century Western Europe, in relation with an accelerated development of architectural eclecticism, (4) the commercialisation of photography at the turn of the century, in relation with the modernist avant-garde, (5) the use of collage in architectural practice of the midtwentieth century, coinciding with a visionary, speculative architecture, (6) the implementation of Computer Aided Drawing in architectural practice by the end of 20th century, in relation to parametric design." "Lost in Representation: Investigating the Material Agency of Media in the Architectural Design Process." "Lara Schrijver" "Henry van de Velde" "The research project departs from the observation that the invention of new types of media for architectural representation in history coincides with developments in architectural paradigms and styles at the time. The project proposes to examine this apparent relationship by (1) developing an original contribution to architectural history through the analysis of six case studies and (2) by building a conceptual framework within which to understand the active role these media have in the formation of ideas, designs, and knowledge, focused on the material qualities of these media. The research will study (1) the transformation of military cartography into architectural drawings in 17th century France, in relation with the advent of geometrical landscape design; (2) the commercialisation of tracing paper in 18th century Central-Europe, in relation with the rise of eclecticism in architecture, (3) the adoption of casts and moulds as a means of studying architecture in 19th century Western Europe, in relation with an accelerated development of architectural eclecticism, (4) the commercialisation of photography at the turn of the century, in relation with the modernist avant-garde, (5) the use of collage in architectural practice of the midtwentieth century, coinciding with a visionary, speculative architecture, (6) the implementation of Computer Aided Drawing in architectural practice by the end of 20th century, in relation to parametric design." "Flanders in Florence: Architectural Exchanges from North to South, 1400-1600" "Pieter Martens" "History, Archeology, Arts, Philosophy and Ethics, Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, Histories of Art, Architecture and Visual Culture" "This project will be the first to investigate the role of ‘Le Fiandre’ for Florence’s architectural culture in the period 1400-1600. It does not argue for a marked Flemish influence on Florence’s Renaissance architecture but intends to study how the intense commercial, artistic, political and military ties with the Low Countries have enriched Florence’s broad architectural culture. While the impact of Flemish painting on Florentine art is well-studied, the transfer of architectural ideas, images, materials and techniques from Flanders to Florence remains a blind spot in scholarship on Renaissance Florence’s internationalism. The project analyses what Tuscan merchant-bankers working in Flanders wrote about its local manners of building and dwelling, and how they adorned their palaces in Florence with Flemish paintings, tapestries and luxury objects. It also examines how depictions in the admired Flemish paintings of a distinctly northern, gothic architecture were perceived in Florence, where most artists, patrons and architects ostensibly favoured a totally different all’antica style. And it studies the decoration of major Florentine buildings with Flemish black marble and stained glass and with painted battle scenes and cityscapes from the Low Countries. Assessing how all these aspects interacted and evolved will enhance our understanding of a vital chapter in Europe’s cultural history and elucidate also the (perceived) characteristics of ‘Flemish’ art and architecture" "Designing architecture in the Sixteenth-Century Low Countries. Architectural drawing as motor and medium for a new designing practice." "Krista De Jonge" "Architecture and Society" "The subject is the design and design process of architecture in the Low Countries during the long sixteenth century (1480-1630), with the architectural drawing and print as its main focus. The objective is gaining insight into the design of architecture while keeping in mind that in the Renaissance architecture is newly defined as an intellectual activity, and that the architectural drawing constitutes one of the mechanisms of interchange with the fine arts. Symptom of a new practice but also motive force of its development, the architectural drawing will be studied as means of communication and as design tool, on and off the construction site. Three turning points will be analyzed in depth by promoters De Jonge, Kavaler, Fuhring, Ottenheym and Nubetabaum: 1. the impact of the first graphical research on the column orders 1520-1540; 2. the development of a common visual architectural culture on the eve of the Revolt 1550-1580; 3. the genesis of an increasingly mathematical architectural practice 1590-1630, in a comparative European perspective with special attention for the German Empire. The PhD researcher focuses on the building site and examines the evolving role of architectural drawing in Netherlandish building practice during the sixteenth century." "The structure of architectural theory in Flanders (1965-1995)." "Hilde Heynen" "Urban Design, Urbanism, Landscape and Planning, History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture" "Architectural theory - the collection of theoretical approaches by which aesthetic, technological and societal challenges of architecture are defined and challenged – has only recently come to define itself as a field that is to play a major role in the education of future architects. The project aims to study this process of formation as it happened in Belgium during the period 1965-1995 (Belgium being a good example of a country that is – at that moment at least – following rather than leading international trends). The project will thus illuminate the circulation of theoretical knowledge by dissecting texts, buildings and visual images in which concepts were transmitted. Secondly, the project will concentrate on the role of architectural theory within architectural education and architectural practice. This will be done by studying how ‘gatekeepers’ - intellectuals, architects and teachers launching, adapting or contesting new ideas - thought about the role of historical consciousness (temporality) and spatial experiences (spatiality)." "An invisible policy? Actors interacting in the municipal architectural policy in Flanders, 1950-1980." "Centre for Urban History, Power in History - Centre for Political History" "This project studies municipal public architecture in Flanders in the period 1950-1980. In literature this period is known for its fading interest in public architecture and the lack of any qualitative public policy. In this project this statement is questioned and investigated by broadening the traditional biographical (architect-designers) and typological methodological approach and explicitly includes the study of the interaction between the various actors in the public building process." "Closing the glass loop. Prototyping a practitioner's road map to valorise end-of-life architectural flat glass" "Niels De Temmerman" "Business technology and Operations, Brussels Centre for Urban Studies, Architectural Engineering" "In Europe, the building sector is responsible for almost a quarter of the total mass of generated waste and hence has a major environmental impact. To reduce that impact, the Flemish region, like others, has put forward the ambition to realise an economy of closed material loops by 2025. Architectural flat glass is a fully recyclable material, but continues to follow a linear, wasteful path from renovation and demolition sites into landfill or low-value recycling. Yet, various niche practices illustrate that technologies and skills are at hand to repair, reuse and recycle flat glass at high value. What lacks is the proper transfer of this information into concrete guidance of practitioners. As a response to this knowledge gap, the research aims at developing a practitioner’s road map – serving as a prototype for other waste flows – to support all practitioners of the building sector in valorising end-of-life flat glass. To achieve this, two questions are key. First, which circular strategies allow to maximise the value of flat glass in a closed material loop with a minimal environmental impact? And second, how can practitioners collectively implement those strategies in building projects? By the involvement of practice’s stakeholders throughout the research, a road map will be developed, tested and validated to support designers, engineers and contractors in making betterinformed choices, close the flat glass loop and make the transition to the circular economy happen." "AIM architectural information modelling" "Ronald De Meyer" "Department of Architecture and urban planning" "This research project tries to investigate how existing work methods in architectural design and the seemingly shortcoming digital interaction with related AEC domains can be improved with existing ICT technologies. Based on the results of this research, a new, integrated framework will be elaborated towards a high-semantic design environment that combines these technologies and leads to further applications on design workflow integration."